All posts tagged ‘video games’

SyFy has been pushing Defiance hard. We encountered them at last year’s Comic Con and this year’s SXSW. They took the show’s Dodge Charger to the Chicago Auto Show and talked about creating alien languages for TED. With just a few weeks before both pieces launch, can the first integrated TV show and video game deliver on the hype?

What’s the story about?

Defiance is set in 2046, which is 33 years from when the aliens come to Earth. (We’d better start building some really killer tech fast before they get here!) It’s got that general post-apocalyptic look about it. Things aren’t good when a diverse pack of aliens shows up, starts inhabiting the planet, and the entire landscape gets transformed. But hey, there’s still Johnny Cash on the radio, so it’s not all bad.

The TV show is set in a town called “Defiance,” which in our day was known as St. Louis, hence the crumbling arch on all the promotional materials. The video game is set in the same time in the same world but takes place in the San Francisco area.

The aliens of Defiance are called “Votans,” and there are seven species, which based on the preview videos, seem to be pretty well-developed already, each with their own distinct looks, cultures, and even a few languages. They collectively come from the Votanis star system, which they left in starships known as “arks” and 5,000 years later found themselves looking at Earth. And maybe a little bit invading it.

The Castithan are powerful, attractive, and the most humanlike in appearance with a complicated caste (“liros”) system.

The Irathient are more-or-less human-looking outsiders with a somewhat steampunk aesthetic and nature-hippie spirtuality. The packs they travel in are known as “spirit riders.”

Image credit: Syfy

The Indogene are the geeks. They’re the cybernetic tech nerds (with super pale skin to match the stereotype) who built the arks. They have an exceptional connection to hexagons–even the irises of their eyes are hexagons.

The Gulanee are rare, energy-based lifeforms.

The Sensoth snagged the Planet of the Apes look. They live longer than the other races.

The liberata are quite short and are a serving-class race. They have frizzy yellow hair and chunky features and are known for their greed. All of that added to first seeing one as a bartender has sealed them in my mind as the “Defiance Ferengi.”

The Volge are violent Transformers-looking creatures. They used to fight on behalf of the Votans, but now pretty much everybody sets them off.

David J. Peterson, who created the Dothraki language for Game of Thrones, also created languages for the Castithian and Irathient for Defiance.

Image credit: Syfy

The game

I took a spin through the video game at SXSW and then in a more refined form over the last week through the third beta. If you hate cut scenes, it’s a long way into the game. (I’m of the opinion that if I wanted to watch a movie, I’d have put in a DVD instead of a game. That feeling is even stronger when the game actually has a whole TV show to go with it.) The game isn’t perfect yet, but again, still a beta. It’s a basic first-person shooter, but I’m optimistic that when the show starts, the tie-in will feel stronger. Right now, however, it isn’t top of my to-play list.

The show

The first minute of the show didn’t grab me. I don’t know if “child happily playing in the park when the bad guys come” felt so cliche before, but after the last season of Fringe (yes, yes, Etta flashback, again), it certainly does now. But after that, it gets a lot more interesting to look at. I’ll give them that. The fourteen minutes were worth that. And that look is a very rough video-game style, which could make the tie-in easier.

You’ll certainly recognize the cast from other geek favorites, including Julie Benz (Darla in Buffy), Tony Curran (The Invisible Man in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), and Jaime Murray (H. G. Wells in Warehouse 13). (And the Chief Lawkeeper is a former Marine played by Grant Bowler, whom I last saw as Cooter in True Blood, so that’s a casting choice that might take some getting used to.)

The payoff

Although it’s hard to see one from the other right now, the idea is that characters from the show will appear in the game and vice-versa. Anything that affects the planet or at least a sizeable chunk of North America will affect both.

This is all a big gamble. It’s the first project to tie a video game to a TV show like this, and NBC/Syfy have invested a lot in it. (According to The Wall Street Journal, 150 people and $70 million for the game alone.) If one doesn’t go well, it could easily sink the other, and if it all sinks together, we might not see such an interesting cross-media effort again for a while.

Defiance premieres April 15 on Syfy. You can watch the first 14 minutes of the two-hour premiere now. The game will be released April 2, and you can pre-order it for Xbox, PS3, or PC.

It all started when Frank was a boy, frustrated by the lack of organization in the Meehan household. Being the nerdy kid that he was, he spent an entire summer creating a computer database to catalog all of the items in his house so that he could find stuff. Frank sure has come a long way since that summer— his latest venture is about to completely disrupt the educational app-based gaming industry.

Frank Meehan, Founder and CEO of Kuato Studios, is already well known around Silicon Valley and beyond as part of Horizons Ventures and for serving on the boards of technology companies, including SRI—you know, that company responsible for Siri, the virtual assistant Apple purchased and incorporated into iOS. But Kuato Studios is Frank’s latest venture. He has built a magnificent team around Hakitzu, an epic, fun iPad game that also happens to teach players how to code basic JavaScript. In fact, you can’t do much in the game without typing commands into the console to carry out your next moves. It is very easy to get started and Hakitzu provides plenty of tips. Once you’ve done a few things in the game, you’ll be ready for more. Continue Reading “Hakitzu-Promising AI Platform Blurs Lines Between Gaming and Learning” »

Here’s your chance to get your hands on a huge selection of Skylanders swag including some limited edition and not-yet released items.

Contents include:

7 Giant Toys ($14.99 each) – $104.93

Skylanders Battle Arena (Power-A) – $39.99

Skylanders Adventure Case (Power-A) – $29.99

Skylanders Bobble Stylus for Nintendo DS – $9.99

Skylanders Giants 16-Month 2013 Calendar – $14.99

Skylanders Book of Elements Paperback Book – $6.99

2 MLB Skylanders Giants Dog Tags ($2.99 each) – $5.98

Skylanders Giants Rolling Bookbags

Skylanders Giants Long-sleeve Sweatshirts

Skylanders Giants Micro Raschel Throw Blankets – $14.99

Mega Bloks Skylanders Giants Troll Mech Ambush – $24.99

Skylanders Poster – $2.99

Skylanders Beach Towel – $12.99

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment telling us which Skylander is your favorite and why. This contest is open to shipping addresses in the Continental US and will run through midnight EST on Sunday, March 24th. Good luck!

One of the many puzzles of The Bridge. Screenshot from thebridgeisblackandwhite.com

When I was at the video game expo PAX Prime last year, the game The Bridge really caught my eye. It won a highly sought-out spot on the PAX 10, PAX’s list of the top 10 indie games. But as I was struck down with a classic case of acute PAX-overload-titis, The Bridge was soon out of sight and out of mind. However, it was recently released on Steam for Windows and it caught my interest all over again.

The Bridge Logo. Image from thebridgeisblackandwhite.com

Developed by programmer Ty Taylor and artist Mario Castaneda, The Bridge is a puzzle game self-described as “Isaac Newton meets M. C. Escher.” I’m quoting it directly because it’s the best way to phrase it! As in Portal, the goal is to cross a level from start to finish with a clever use of gravity. Your only controls are making the character walk left and right, rotating the scene left and right, and scrolling back in time.

The Bridge is absolutely worth including in your next family game night. The whole gang can gather behind the computer screen and discuss the best approach to each new puzzle, the one with the winning strategy gets bragging rights! The simplicity of the controls ensures no one will be lost learning how to use a dozen buttons.

The Bridge puzzle with keys and locks. Screenshot from Ariane Coffin.

Moreover, there’s really no way to fail. If your character dies–for example your character can get hit by a boulder, but there’s no graphic evidence of “death”–you can reset that specific puzzle from the start or backtrack in time to undo what went wrong. This means there’s no other challenge than logic itself.

The beautiful black and white lithography-style art contributes as much to the game experience as the actual game design. Its understated elegance is appealing without being flashy, a rare occurrence in video games. The game includes 48 puzzles, the more challenging ones making use of mind-boggling concepts like gravitational vortexes and parallel dimensions. Should you finish the game and desire additional brainiac fun, you can unlock an alternate version of many of its puzzles.

I am not a gamer, but I love video game creation for kids. Anything that incorporates the creative arts into technology is perfect learning in my book. Which is why I’m happy to report that the 2013 National STEM Video Game Challenge–now in its third year–is now accepting entries through the end of April.

Do you know a kid in middle or high school who loves to play video games? Encourage them to try and create their own! The many game-making platforms like Gamestar Mechanic, Microsoft’s Kodu, GameMaker, and Scratch make it simple. Students can even enter a written design idea. Whether or not their their game wins the challenge, there’s plenty to be gained from the experience. The creation is such a wonderful tool for imagination, and a reward in and of itself! Plus, part of making any game is having someone play it; trying out your child’s game as they develop it is fun (I’m a constant play-tester for my son) and they learn how to take feedback. Groups can enter as well, so how about siblings working together?

If your child’s school has a computer classroom, let the teacher know about the challenge, and maybe it could be a class project. What a great way to learn!

It’s encouraging to look at the many businesses that are sponsoring this event: the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, E-Line Media, the AMD Foundation, Microsoft’s Xbox 360, the Entertainment Software Association, the Hive Digital Media Learning Fund in The New York Community Trust and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), a federal agency that will assist with broadening the reach of the Challenge through the inclusion of museums and libraries as gaming venues outside of schools.

The prizes are new laptop computers with design software, and cash prize for the sponsoring organization.

Dakster Sullivan will be working on project Z this weekend in preparation for Megacon. No one knows what it is yet and she’s super excited to show everyone when it’s completed. Stay tuned to find out what she’s working on.

Rachel Cericola is wondering if this weekend’s snow storm will be a bust. The news people are saying it’s going to be a bad one. In preparation, she will sharpen her ninja skills to brave the supermarket crowds and will also bake cookies. She also needs to clean up and dig her boots out of storage.

Kris Bordessa is adding to her collection of “farm” animals: 14 tilapia fish that she’ll begin harvesting soon and a hen with seven chicks who should be laying eggs by summertime. She’s also waiting for her household to explode with more Lego Cuusoo excitement. Her son’s group of Lego geeks – Team Jigsaw – just launched a new project. This time? It’s a steampunk theme.

Amy is heading off to the New York Toy Fair to check out all of the latest goodies and make some new discoveries.

Rebecca Angel feels Spring in the air, or she’s getting more sleep, but she has been very creative lately with music, crocheting and comics. The family is off to a gaming party this weekend, lots of fun to look forward to. Hope everyone is having a great week :)

Corrina is preparing for the Winter Storm due to hit today. Two feet of snow is a considerable storm even for a New England native. She hopes the storm doesn’t cancel the honor roll assembly for her youngest son, as he’s so proud of what he’s accomplished. She also spent time with the youngest daughter this week, learning all about a new-to-her video game that is keeping her entranced.

Patricia had an exciting week and is now looking forward to getting her life back together. Does anyone else completely shut down their households when studying for finals? She took her first test for her Air Force Air War College and is happy to announce that she passed. Not necessarily with flying colors, but with a family move coming up in a couple months, she isn’t being choosy about the grade. She also ran her first long distance run for the year and enjoyed the Navarre Beach Mardi Gras Parade with the family. This weekend is shaping up to be a really good time, her family is planning a trip to see Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band, who’s playing a free concert at the Air Force Base thanks to the USO.

The Skylanders have descended upon New York City, bringing some big news with them.

Activision CEO seems somewhat mystified to be in town for his third Toy Fair, only a couple short years after everyone wondered what a game company was doing there in the first place. Meanwhile, the Skylanders franchise has racked up $500 million in sales, outpacing hot toys like Beyblades, and Star Wars and Transformers action figures. Parents, get ready to open up your wallets again this fall.

Skylanders Swap Force is Activision’s latest release in the franchise, innovating once again. I’m amazed at how they’ve been able to keep pace with the ever-changing toy industry and not only releasing games each year, but bringing new innovation with each release. With Swap Force, there are 16 new Skylanders characters that can swap halves. Need the rocket booster legs of one character but the sword-wielding power of another? No problem! Take them apart and put them together in just the right way to defeat the baddies. The lower halves of the characters have a lot to do with how they navigate the environment, bringing with them climbing power, or the ability to fly, or super speed. The top halves have more to do with how they behave in battle. There are 256 combinations of characters to try, giving kids lots of reason to try them all out.

There are new side games that require certain character abilities. In the same way as characters of certain elements can unlock side quests in the current Skylanders games, Swap Force unlocks games based on character ability, such as a flying character’s ability to race through rings in the sky.

In addition to the swappable characters, there are 32 new core Skylanders on the way, including new versions of fan favorites and some all new characters. I was psyched to learn about the new roller derby character, Roller Brawl. (Of course, I’m excited about every girl character they throw our way. More! More! More!) All of your existing characters can play in the Swap Force game, and now they can all jump! Apparently everyone has been asking Activision for jumping functionality.

Earlier this week Disney Interactiverevealed Disney Infinity, a new gaming platform with enormous potential for future developments. Launching in June with three of the studio’s major franchises in tow, (The Incredibles, Pirates of The Caribbean and the upcoming Monsters University) the future already sees a number of additions lined up for the new platform.

A first glance at the Infinity platform one cannot help but be reminded of Skylanders. Characters are played with by placing their figurine onto the base and unlocking their world inside the game. The initial line of these figures contains a wallet-numbing forty characters. Mr Incredible, Sulley and Captain Jack Sparrow come with the Infinity starter packs. Characters’ items and experience are saved to the figures. Stat upgrades and special attacks are saved to circular tokens placed under the figures as they sit on the base, with up to two tokens allowable at any one time. The characters will also work across platforms allowing the player to take their figurine from a PS3 at home over to an Xbox-owning friend and play with it there.

In many people’s opinion one of the best attractions in Walt Disney World is Toy Story Midway Mania, a ride that combines 3D glasses with moving vehicles and fun carnival midway style shooting games to create a fully immersive experience, and one of the most popular attractions ever built. Now Toy Story Mania is available as a game for your PS3 or Xbox so you can play at home.

Firstly let’s make one thing clear, this is not a new game. Toy Story Mania was released for the Wii way back in 2009 and this new release simply puts the game onto new formats (PS3 and Xbox 360). I bought the original game when it was released four years ago and I could instantly see some differences between that and the new release, even though I sold my old copy a few months after buying it. The graphics are cleaner and sharper although naturally some of that will come from the better graphics of my PS3 over the Wii, the menus have changed and there are more gameplay modes than before. However the basic gameplay has remained the same, point your Wiimote/Move controller/arms at the screen and shoot. Continue Reading “Toy Story Mania’s Midway Fun Isn’t Quite Enough” »

In 2013, Lego Legends of Chima will get a trio of video games across a variety of platforms. Image: Lego.com.

Lego recently introduced its Chima line, which combines a slew of magical animals and the classic story of good and evil — with a little friend and family bonding thrown in for good measure. It’s already getting some play in the latest Lego Club Jr. magazine, but that’s just the beginning of what will soon become the toy line’s latest empire. Lego and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment just announced plans to release a trio of Legends of Chima video games throughout 2013.

The Chima line will include construction sets, vehicles, TV content, and more. Some of that “more” will include the new games, which will debut throughout the year, across a variety of platforms. At this point, however, that line-up does not include any at-home consoles.

First up is Lego Legends of Chima: Speedorz, a racing mini-game that’s now available on Lego.com and through the iTunes App Store. Produced by TT Games and 4T2, the game allows players to race against Chima characters, battle through Chima locations, and “unleash the power of CHI” all in the name of their Speedorz.

Hopefully, that game will keep you busy until the summer. That’s when Lego Legends of Chima: Laval’s Journey will put Nintendo 3DS and PS Vita users in the middle of “an amazing adventure.” Standard DS users will have to wait a few months to embark on the journey; TT Games says that the non-3D DS version won’t start selling until the fall.

Around that same time, the Lego Legends of Chima Online portal will launch. This is a free site designed for kids to game in a safe, but incredibly immersive environment. Developed by WB Games Montréal, this freebie allows users to built and customize a kingdom in the world of Chima, take on missions, use Lego bricks to build weapons and gadgets, and much more.

All three of the games tie into a reward system known as the Chima Vault. Players can earn points in any of the Chima games and redeem them in the Vault for new content.

Like so many of you, the thought of a world without Nintendo Power saddened me greatly. I’ve grown up with NP. I’ve kept an active subscription since the ’80s. I never even updated the mailing address–every volume has been delivered straight to my parents’ house, and as an adult it’s been a critical connection point back to my childhood every time I’ve come to visit. The thought of that absence made me feel like a piece of my boyhood was dying.

What’s worse, NP ended before I could share it with my own son–something I’ve looked forward to since becoming a father. That thought was the last straw. And so, after spending a single night sulking, I sprang into action.

The mention of sharing the magic of Nintendo with the next generation definitely made me smile, and even sniff a little bit. We at GeekMom wish them the best of luck in their new endeavor! Watching fans band together to do amazing things, yeah, that’s part of what makes the internet so darn amazing.

Toys have been around forever. But no childhood or geeky household has been complete without video games for decades, and now apps are ubiquitous parts of helping us entertain and educate our kids. Check out the GeekMom recommendations for these items this holiday season, and there are a few tabletop gaming stragglers tossed in for good measure!

Image: Rio Grande Games

Dominion
$44.99 (but is considerably cheaper online)
This game will become quickly addictive to any strategy or deck-building tabletop gaming fans. Now a bit of a classic, Dominion has several sequels and expansion packs to keep happy even those that have played it for a while. Build your deck as the game goes on, but win only if you have the most victory points. The cards that help you during the game aren’t always the ones that help you win, so strategy is key.

Image: Atlas Games

Gloom
$24.99
As seen on Wil Wheaton’s TableTop, plan the demise of your own family while bringing luck and good cheer to your fellow players’ families. Bring tragedy home and kill off the characters on your cards to win this gruesome and hilariously dark game.

Geek Battle as seen on sogeekchic.com.

Geek Battle
$19.95
Trivia games are always winners, but if you’re looking for one more slanted toward geek culture, check out Geek Battle. The diminutive board allows you to play this game on any tiny surface, and you can try to best your geeky friends with skills such as knowing more elements on the periodic table that have a one letter symbol. You might need to institute a few house rules, but this game is a lot of fun. Read the review here.

As usual for Lego series video games, this is best when played with two players, although it can also be played by one person. As a mom, my love for two player mode is that it requires cooperation in order to solve the puzzles and complete the levels. Perfect family bonding time. Like similar Lego titles, you also can go through the adventures multiple times and re-play once you’ve unlocked characters and want to return in free play mode.

The cutscenes in Lego Lord of the Rings come directly from the movie with a few comic gags thrown in. My husband and I miss the silent pantomimed cutscenes from Lego Star Wars, but my daughter thinks the spoken dialog is the best thing ever. I guess Lego knows their audience. Speaking of which, there are very few surprises in terms of plot if you know the books and movie. That’s as you’d expect, since the plot is long and complicated enough as is. It doesn’t make it less challenging to know the basic goals of each scene. In some ways it enhances the experience. Continue Reading “My Precious: Adventures with the Lego Lord of the Rings Video Game” »

Plenty of kids have put video games and consoles on their wish lists this year. If you’re a gamer parent, then you know what your kid can handle, but if you’re not, how do you know what’s okay? Not all games are created equal, even with the same E or T rating and it’s confusing if you don’t play them yourself. In this episode GeekMom Nicole Wakelin is joined by her husband, Russ Wakelin of The D6 Generation Podcast, who’s come up with a great way to help non-gamer parents figure out just which games will make them and their kids happy.

There are a lot of deals to sift through today–who has the time? So we’ve done a little sorting for you to make your Cyber Monday shopping go a little more smoothly. Find another great deal? Leave it for everyone in the comments!

Comixology is have a 99 cent sale on Avengers, 50% of select comics from IDW, and up to 80% off collections.

Amazon’s lightning deals in books include The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury and The Complete Vader: Star Wars. Check to see when the books you want will be available so you know when to buy. Kindle books are on sale as well, many for around $2.

If you’re ready to start your kids on Skylanders, Wal-Mart has glow-in-the-dark starter packs for $39 for Wii, PS3, and Xbox. If you missed all the Xbox specials on Black Friday, they also have a bundle for $159 with Skylanders Starter Kit and Exclusive Gill Grunt Character and free shipping.

The Steam sale is still on, but harder to gift, so consider it a present to yourself. Today’s deals includ Sonic Generations and Batman: Arkham City. Yesterday’s still available deals include Borderlands 2 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

DVD

Seasons 1, 2, and 4 of Heroes on Amazon are only $8.99 each. (Season 3 is inexplicably twice as much.) The search turns up a lot, though, so to make it easy, just use these links: season one, season two, season four.

Amazon also has some great DVD lightning deals throughout the day, but like with the books, you’ll have to check to see what’s available and make sure you’re ready to click when they’re ready to sell. The best deals go within seconds. Today’s deals include Battlestar Galactica, Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Brave.

Other general geekery

ThinkGeek is offering free shipping with no minimum order in the US or $10 off $60 anywhere outside the US (including Middle Earth, according to their newsletter).

Today I came across a Kickstarter project that made me wish so hard that I lived on the other coast. The LA Game Space aims to be a nonprofit center for art, design, and research. This gigantic LA warehouse has the potential to be a game incubator at its finest, coupling it with an education piece that’s very exciting. Plans include an artist residency, galleries, game research labs (providing data to researchers worldwide), and speakers and workshops. Freed from commercial limitations, designers and artists really have the chance to innovate.

This week TIME Magazine published their list of the “All-TIME” top 100 video games, and gamers everywhere are scanning the list for their favorites. The top 100 covers the gamut of game genres, from FPS to MMORPG to RTS, and even sports and fighting games.

While none of the choices for the top 100 make me immediately wonder at their inclusion, I am dismayed to see Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy III in the U.S.) left off the list, which instead cites Final Fantasy VII as the better game. I’d also make a case for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to be on there as well.

Food is very important to me. Wait, that sounds dumb, doesn’t it? Because really, whether you eat to live or live to eat; food is important to all living creatures. But I love to cook, I love to bake, I love to eat out, I love to eat in other people’s homes. If you tell me you’ve gone to a particular restaurant, I will ask you what you ordered off the menu there, and, as my husband pointed out, will actively listen to your answer and even ask pointed questions.

“You’re not just being pleasant,” he said to me, early on in our relationship. “You really want to know!”

When I go to another country, one of my favorite things to do is find the local supermarket and browse the shelves. I know I get this from my mother and her identical twin sister. My father’s half-sister came to visit us once, and upon returning from a “quick trip” to the supermarket, she said to me, “My God, we were there for ages! And then I looked at them, and I realized, they’re window shopping in the local supermarket chain!”

In my experience, when you pop into the local supermarket, you will find chocolates, candy, and cookies that are interesting and unique to the culture – and you can buy them as souvenirs and gifts for friends back home. They will be much cheaper than the same product being sold in tourist areas. And it’s not just international. Oh no. Honey, I once killed a pleasant three hours in a Winn-Dixie outside of New Orleans while I waited for Delta to fly my luggage to the right city. Supermarkets say a lot about where you are visiting. And New Orleans had a plethora of indigenous products to gander at.

I cook a lot, and I involve my daughter as much as I can. We have a Learning Tower in our kitchen, and Vivi spends a lot of time up there at counter level, helping me make our meals, or treats. I want her to grow up knowing how food gets to her table, and understand what goes into the food she eats. At the beginning of Anthony Bourdain’s book Kitchen Confidential, he explains why food in restaurants tastes so much better than the food you make at home: monte au buerre. I think it’s important to know things like this, so you have an understanding of the work that goes into making a meal. When we cook something together and eat it, I always say that it tastes better because we are proud to have made it.

So I was intrigued when Spil games contacted me and invited me to Amsterdam to discuss, and be a part of the launch of their wildly popular game Sara’s Cooking Class on mobile devices. (In the interest of full disclosure, they invited fellow GeekMom Melissa Wiley, who had to decline due to previous commitments. She, weepingly, but graciously recommended me for the trip instead, and was rewarded handsomely with Stroopwafel.)

I recently had the privilege of interviewing Allyson Peerman, corporate vice-president of semiconductor design company AMD, and president of AMD Foundation, about the firm’s efforts to bring video game design programs into our schools.

Allyson started the conversation saying how she liked the title of my own education company, Out of the Box Creative Learning, because that’s how the education system has to work nowadays. Throughout the conversation, I realized that Allyson has been striving her whole career to rethink education, benefitting the engineering fields and American students.

My first question was why are STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) based companies so interested in helping education today? Besides giving money to schools, I don’t remember companies actively creating educational programs when I was a kid. Her answer was logical: they need a steady supply of workers. They want to hire the smartest, most innovative workers. And if those workers come from America, even better. But the current education system does not encourage the type of thinking that brings students into those fields. This is why AMD, Intel and many other high-tech companies are taking the initiative with educational programs.

One example is Changing the Game, AMD’s program to teach kids to make their own video games on a variety of subjects. The program was based on an investigation into how to teach science, technology, engineering and math to kids in the most engaging way possible. The fact that children love games is obvious. And for this generation of children, video games especially are the favorite mode of play.

While I always approach a game looking for exciting and interesting gameplay, I have a background in the visual arts and my eye can’t help but be drawn to the visually inspired. Roger Ebert has famously said that video games can’t be art. Sony has three new games that prove him wrong.

I recently had a chance to get my hands on some of these new games at a Sony Playstation event. The first game to catch my eye was Puppeteer. With a real flavor for the theatrical, Puppeteer has layer upon layer of set pieces that spring into place. You play as a young boy who has been transformed into a wooden puppet, and you find different heads throughout the journey as you go on a quest to find your own. The characters and game assets all have a look of being lovingly handcrafted, and the lighting adds real drama.